Last stage of An Post Rás – Holler defends climbers-jersey

Stage 8 of An Post Rás (UCI 2.2) in Ireland was the last stage of a wonderful and successful race during the last week. With his 13th place today, Nikodemus Holler seals the win of KOM – jersey on his Stradalli Cycle Bitonto full carbon road bike.

A week full of stress, fighting, suffering and much more has now been left behind. Such a stage race always keeps very special and unique challenges for the riders. And it is not only the pure racing that makes it hard, it is also the psychological part that is a real challenge to everyone.

Not only are the riders concerned it is also the staff that has to bear a lot of the stress and suffering too during such a tough race. Lot of tasks have to be done in a very accurate way but in a short amount of time as the whole pack is moving every day from A to B. Waking up early in the morning, preparing bottles (about 40 per day), food, equipment, tactical briefing and many more. Then race time, pure stress. After the mechanics take their space to clean and service all the bikes and wheels and the physios trying to let the riders relax. Lot to do before the last one turns the light off.

In such conditions and with that amount of stress, it is barely important that the people involved in such a tour have a good relationship and are able to maintain a good mood together during the whole time of the race. If you are inside of all this, you often do not realize the real meaning of what everybody brings in and sacrifices to make the whole thing working. But when you take a step outside of the box and look on all these details, you quickly realize that everybody in a team I a hero on his own way with his own experience and with all he or her does. Just awesome what all people have to bring together that it is possible to bring a team to the start line.

And when all these sacrifices, all this passion and suffer from everybody leads to success at the end, there can be not much more feelings that are better. And tonight the guys from Stradalli – BIKE AID surely deserved it to have a brilliant evening with a lot of fun, as the whole week can be seen as a success.

8 hard stages left behind, lot of stress and hectic, suffer and fight and today it was all about bringing the jersey home. And maybe to have a good sprint for Patrick Lechner again at the end of this 8th stage in Skerries. Unfortunately Patrick got involved into a bad crash in the final lap and his opportunity to do another good result was gone. So it was finally all about bringing Niko’s climbers jersey home. He finished 13th again and finally won the climbers classification and took 10th place in GC.

Congratulations also to Clemens Frankhauser form team Tirol who won the GC of this year’s Rás and who really deserves it! Well done to all of you guys! Now we wish you all a good way back and hope for another great adventures!   

A day in the break – superb ride brings Holler closer to the overall win in KOM classification

With his awesome ride today in the break, Nikodemus Holler gained more points for the KOM classification and just needs one more point on tomorrow’s last stage of An Post Rás (UCI 2.2)

Sometimes it is the best way to defend, when you attack. But in cycling you don’t want to throw out all your cards too early on the table and attacking the others also brings many risks. But sometimes you get forced to do it by the action of your competitors and you can forget all your plans that you made before.

On today’s penultimate stage of An Post Rás in Ireland, the plan was actually to stay together with the other favorites for the GC and to have a showdown at the last climb of the day – ranked in category 1. But before the first climb there was a break going with the biggest competitor for Niko in the KOM classification and he had to react immediately. So he made his way to the break before the first climb and from there on Niko showed an incredible performance. Winning all KOM’s until the last climb and when his fellows started to fatigue, he took his way alone. He literally put all his cards on the table and now forced the others to react.

Unfortunately the Australian National team had different plans and put all effort to chase Niko down and fight for the GC themselves. In the middle of the cat 1 climb, the Aussies closed the gap with only 5 guys together and an incredible speed. Of course it is the most difficult moment when you get caught in the middle of a climb having already many kilometers of break in the legs.

Despite all efforts and incredible fight, Nikodemus Holler could not follow the Aussies anymore and took his own rhythm. After the decent he fought with another group to come back but when they arrived to the finish they missed by only 56 seconds. Niko finished on 13th place, but made again his way to the podium to receive “his” mountains jersey. 

On tomorrow’s last stage he needs just one more point to take this beautiful jersey home and also to finalize a superb week of great racing in Ireland!

Fingers crossed, and never forget the GC 

Holler increases lead in KOM classification – 2 days to go to Dublin

With his 14th place and even more points in the KOM classification on today’s 6th stage of An Post Rás (UCI 2.2) in Ireland, Nikodemus Holler could successfully defend his mountains jersey and still ranks promising in GC.

Actually it should be a day without lot of trouble and a little bit more calm as the previous days. That’s what the riders were thinking. But in reality the stage was again very hectic, nervous and fast in the beginning due to lots of attacks. With 158 kilometers and “only” 3 KOM climbs of category 3 it was not a very hard stage, but at the end it’s the riders who make the race hard. And in the Rás there is no real day to rest or to let you hang around in the pack, as you always have to keep the tension and concentration.

Luckily the “joint-venture” of TeamTirol and Stradalli – BIKE AID succeeded after a while to control the race to make it a little more comfortable for their captains as there is a real day of fight waiting for the guys tomorrow.

At the end of the stage Nikodemus Holler could manage to reach the finish again with the other favorites and keep his promising position in the GC with only 10 seconds back of yellow. In the KOM classification he could increase his gap to 18 points to the second position.

“I still feel very good in the climbs and just didn’t want to invest too much today, as tomorrow will be another hard and probably the decisive day for the GC. But it was also important to me, to win another points for the KOM classification, as this jersey is so beautiful and I want to keep that until Dublin”, Nikodemus Holler described his day.

In the morning before the stage there was some bad news the team received: Joschka Beck couldn’t start the stage as he fell sick and got a fever during the night. We wish him all the best!

Niko Holler extended his lead in the King of the Mountains classification at UCI 2.2 An Post Ras today during Stage 6 through Eastern Ireland.

Stage 6 was not as mountainous as the previous several stages, but it still provided opportunities for the climbers of the race to compete for points on several categorized climbs. The race was hard enough to split the field down to only 50 riders, but the fast flat finish meant Stradalli – Bike Aid team chose to focus on protecting the general classification and king of the mountain classification position held by Holler instead of contesting for the win.

This week at An Post Ras has been about riding as strong as possible as a team to prepare for Qinghai Lake, the most prestigious race on the UCI calendar in Asia. Holler has confirmed all season is ability to lead the team in top level UCI races.

Stradalli – Bike Aid riders Joschka Beck, Patrick Lechner, Damien Garcia and Janvier Hadi have been riding solely to protect Holler and give him the opportunity to chase big wins at An Post Ras. It has been a full team effort to shield Holler from the wind and ensure he makes the front group during every stage of racing. It is very difficult to win a leader’s jersey at a race like An Post Ras, but the goal is very achievable.


Holler still remains 10 seconds away from the leader’s jersey and with several hard stages left the team is going to try everything in the book to gain the lead in the general classification and build on the lead in the King of the Mountains classification.


An Post Ras continues tomorrow with Stage 7, 155 kilometers from Dungarvan to Baltinglass. There will be 4 opportunities for King of the Mountain points. 3 category 3 climbs come early in the race, but the big ascent of the day comes at 110 kilometers. Mount Leinster will give the general classification riders the last opportunity to sort out the overall and the Stradalli – Bike Aid team is looking forward to their defense of the King of the Mountains jersey.  

Holler and the points – on stage 5 back in KOM jersey

Stage 5 of An Post Ras UCI 2.2 race finished with a small breakaway arriving 27 seconds ahead of the main group. Today Stradalli – Bike Aid missed the breakaway, but the real race for leader’s jerseys was still on in a hard way.

The 166.8 kilometer route saw the riders tackle several categorized climbs which meant many King of the Mountain points were on offer. Stradalli – Bike Aid rider, who was previously placed second in the mountains classification, put his climbing skills to work and reclaimed the King of the Mountains jersey with only three days of racing left

The mountainous route meant the race would be very hard to control and a break of 6 would eventually go up the road. None of the riders were a huge threat to the general classification, so there wasn’t much motivation from the group to chase late in the race. The team worked to protect Holler and keep him safe from any accidents.

Holler would eventually make the front group of only 28 riders and finish 13th on the day and preserving his top 10 general classification placing. Holler still remains 10 seconds behind the leader’s jersey and with more mountainous stages ahead a general classification win is still well within reach.

Stage 6 from Clonakilty to Dungarvan runs 159.1 kilometers is another hilly route, but will provide the sprinters who make it to the end with a fast flat finish. Out of over 150 riders, only 30-40 riders are consistently making it to the finish in the front group. The weather conditions and routes are proving tough for all riders involved, but the team is positive and are looking forward to another day defending the King of the Mountains jersey and chasing an overall win.

Nikodemus Holler gets back the lead in the KOM classification at An Post Rás (UCI 2.2) in Ireland. After lots of points today, Holler now leads with 11 points ahead of second place.

On today’s fifth stage of An Post Rás the guys from Stradalli – BIKE AID had a lot on their minds with what they wanted to do. In the language of football nowadays everybody talks about “setting goals” and so on. Whatever you may think about those kind of “plans” or “missions” one thing is for sure: in real life it is important to set some goals and to try and reach them as good as possible. And honestly, who wants to go through life without any plan?

Today the riders of team Stradalli – BIKE AID agreed together on 2 main goals: first, to take back the KOM – leader jersey for Nikodemus Holler and second, to try to put pressure on the yellow jersey today.

With these targets in their pocket, the riders from the German team went to the start line ready to fight like hell. Sure, during the Rás it is very hard to control the race as the teams consist only of 5 riders and the race is so nervous and hectic but the guys did the utmost to reach their goals. Again working hard as a team with their Stradalli full carbon Aversa road bikes, they controlled the pack until the first KOM and Nikodemus did the rest. He won the first KOM and took second in the KOM number 2 to win again the third.

With taking all these points, Niko now leads with 11 points ahead of the second and wears the leader jersey of the KOM classification again! A very beautiful one by the way, very colourful!

At the end of the stage, Niko finished with a group of other favorites on 13th place 27 seconds back on the winner Wouter Mol form dutch team De Rijke.

So there is one goal left for the upcoming days, guys!

On today’s stage 4 at the tour of Ireland, Stradalli – Bike Aid pro racer Patrick Lechner missed the podium by only a few millimeters, but proved again how fast he is in the sprint.

It was one of those moments, when it is all about a few millimeters, just a few thousands of a second. A moment, when an athlete doesn’t really know what to think about: should he cry or should he be happy? Was it a great performance or was it simply missing the success? Actually it should be a moment of joy and happiness when you finish 4^th on a stage of a professional race but somehow there always remains a feeling of an incomplete mission.

Athletes are like this. Always on the run, always about faster, higher, further. But this is exactly the what athletes are made of! Always in mind how to develop and how to improve. When you don’t have this attitude, you will never come to success in competition.

But honestly: what the guys did again today is just awesome! It was a superb performance of the whole team again as they focused on one common goal together: to put the fastest guy in the best position for the sprint. And Patrick delivered massively again! 4^th place! In a professional UCI ranked race. What more you can ask for? And Nikodemus Holler well rounded this day with his 9^th place in the stage classification.

The only small bad thing today: Niko lost his climbers jersey as there was a break that went away and took the needed points. But he will have his opportunities to fight to get the jersey back during the upcoming days.

Well done guys and go ahead!

Stradalli – Bike Aid pro team places two riders in top 10 after 162.8 kilometers of racing on stage 4 of UCI 2.2 An Post Ras.

Stage 4 of An Post Ras had 4 categorized climbs on the route for the riders to tackle, meaning defending the King of the Mountains jersey which was held by Niko Holler after Stage 3 would be difficult. The team rode strongly to protect Holler, but the team decided the general classification was more important than the mountains leaders jersey.

Holler still sits second on the mountain classification, but moved up in the general classification to 6th place, 10 seconds behind the leader’s jersey for the overall general classification of the race. Holler showed his good form again today with a 9th place finish, but the Stradalli – Bike Aid team’s depth is what is bringing the team such great success.

Stradalli – Bike Aid rider Joschka Beck has been the key domestique for the team, allowing Holler and the other riders to excel in the final. Beck has been more active than any other rider covering breakaways and ensuring Holler doesn’t miss any key moves. Out of 163 riders racing An Post Ras, only 43 finished in the front group. Great teamwork is essential in order to keep key  riders for the general classification in prime position to compete for the win.

Patrick Lechner of Stradalli – Bike Aid, who has been sprinting in fast finishes and riding in support of Holler, finished 4th on today’s stage giving the team two riders in the top 10. An Post – Chain Reaction, Ireland’s top professional team, was the only other team to place two riders in the top 10. Madison Genesis, NFTO and JLT Condor, the top UCI Continental teams from Britain, managed to take minor placings but Stradalli – Bike Aid is doing a great job of controlling the race.

An Post Ras is now halfway finished and continues tomorrow with Stage 5, a 148.3 kilometer route from Sneem to Clonakitty. The route will include 5 more categorized climbs meaning it will be another tough day of racing protecting the general classification aspirations of Niko Holler. The final 3 kilometers of the race will be predominantly flat, but the sprint will be uphill to the finish line which will give Holler and Lechner the perfect opportunity to capitalize on a great job so far at An Post Ras!

Holler takes 3rd place and lead in KOM – classification at An Post Ras (UCI 2.2) in Ireland

Nikodemus Holler impressively proved his climbing abilities on today’s third stage at An Post Ras by taking the overall lead in the KOM’s classification and finishing 3rd at the stage.

“It is always a good feeling if you have something in mind to do and at the end you succeed with that but in cycling it is not always the case. Honestly speaking it is very rare that this happens as the sport is so complex and there are so many things that can be an influence. But today, was exactly that day where things came together and at the end you reach your goal.”

After Patrick Lechner’s  6th place finish yesterday the team had a clear mission. On today’s schedule: 133 hard kilometers, with a steep climb of the first category 7 kilometers to the finish line. It was expected to be a hard day for the contenders for the GC.

The goal for the guys from Stradalli – BIKE AID was clear: keeping the captain Nikodemus Holler in a good position before the climb so he can put all his focus on delivering his best performance without any obstacles or the risk of a crash. Set and done, the guys protected him so well and especially Joschka Beck worked hard as a tank to bring his man in the final climb. Now it was all on Niko to show the performance that he delivered throughout the last couple of weeks.

And what he did was amazing! He won the KOM and took the jersey for best climber, but when he turned around he saw just 4 other guys who were able to follow his wheel. And now the direction was clear: full gas to the finish, all that he had left! 7 Kilometers almost all downhill and just a slight uphill finish. It was the Brit, James Gullen who risked everything and set the final attack with 500 meters to go when he made a gap to the other fellows.

At the end he won the stage by 2 seconds and Nikodemus finished 3rd after the Kiwi Aaron Gate. Also in the same time, former Ràs winner and favorite for the GC Clemens Frankhauser from Austrian Proteam “Tirol” who took the overall lead and the yellow jersey.

Niko is ranking 7th now in the GC with 10 seconds back on Frankhauser. A good position for the upcoming days!  

Niko Holler finishes third and takes mountains leader’s jersey on stage 3 of An Post Ras (UCI 2.2) in Ireland

Stage 3 of Tour of Ireland gave the riders several opportunities for King of the Mountain points as well as sprint points. The stage was consistently hilly meaning the climbers would have their opportunity to shine. Today’s stage required top level teamwork to claim the stage win.

All day the Stradalli – Bike Aid team rode in support of Niko Holler, who would capitalize on every opportunity the team provided him.

Stage 3 is the shortest of all the stages at 133.2 kilometers, but it confronted the riders with the most difficult terrain. The beginning of the stage was flat, but the riders rode aggressively to take the early sprint points on offer. Many of the riders had put in huge amounts of work before the first ascent of the category 3 Knockabout Cross mountain at 51 kilometers.

The riders who made it over the top of the first ascent in the main group competed for more sprint points at the 60 kilometer mark. The Stradalli – Bike Aid riders were busy all day controlling the race. Even Patrick Lechner, who finished 6th in the sprint on stage 2, rode his hardest to support Holler all the way to the final category 1 ascent of Conor Pass.

In the toughest race in Ireland, Holler finished 3rd and now holds the mountains leaders jersey. Stage 4 continues tomorrow with 162.8 kilometer mountainous stage with 4 categorized climbs.

With a massive sprint final and the perfect help of his team mates, Patrick Lechner proved his good shape and sprinted to 6th place on today’s stage at Tour of Ireland.

It was the longest stage of the tour today, with 188 kilometers from Mullingar to Charleville through the heart of the Emerald Isle. To participate at The Ràs is always very special. This race is more than just a normal stage race. It has the character of a big tradition in Ireland and it seems that everybody celebrates The Ràs when it rolls through the villages.

Also the Irish county teams are every year more than motivated to fight against the professional teams from Europe and give the best they have to make the race as hard as possible for them. Couple of times this also leads to nervous and hectic race and leads to crashes from time to time. And you can believe: to get down on Irish roads hurts like hell, as the asphalt is very hard and not friendly to skin and bones. This is also what makes this race so unique and special!

Today’s stage had all what it needs to have an interesting race day. It began very fast and hectic. The peloton did 51 Kilometers during the first hour and one attack was followed by the next as there are also many young riders who are very motivated and aggressive. After a while a 2 man break away made it and reached a gap of 7 minutes until the pack started to bring them back. Road racing is not a kind of mathematics where you can always calculate everything, as there are so many influences why things are as they are. Road racing is such a complex sport and we all love this pure kind of sports. In the end the two guys could take a couple of seconds to the finish and fought among themselves for the victory. Behind them the real race went on. Sprint preparations, positioning and fighting for every centimeter. That is what it is about when the pack arrives to the finish line.

The Stradalli – BIKE AID boys did so well today. It needs a lot of teamwork to be successful as a rider. Especially in the sprint you need to rely on your team mates. When you ride alongside your competitors with couple of millimeters of distance, speeding up to 70 kph and fighting with all you have your teammates make all the difference. It is scary to think about. In the last kilometer nobody really takes this in mind. Today it was Nikodemus Holler who brought the guys in position and Joschka Beck was leading Patrick Lechner out to the final sprint. One by one they all did a good job and just a crash in front of them avoided more. Patrick sprinted to 4th place of the pack and reached 6th place on stage result!

Stradalli - Bikeaid pro cycling team getting ready for Ardennen , Belgium 1 day race

Stradalli – Bike Aid Team Dominant On Their Adopted Continent Of Africa

It’s funny how things work out. The Stradalli – Bike Aid team from Germany loves to race in some of the most beautiful locations in Europe. Their trip to Spain is a great example as they raced in Mallorca and saw some of the most amazing sites in the world. But there’s only one place this team truly feels at home and it is the last place you would expect.

Africa is the adopted continent of the Stradalli – Bike Aid team as their charity efforts have helped to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to help young African cyclists realize their dream of becoming pro racers. The program has so many success stories but the one thing people weren’t sure of is if it would lead to wins and podium appearances for the race team.

Not only is the team off to maybe it’s best start ever, but they are dominating races throughout Africa and it continued this week at the Tour of Eritrea. But it’s not just the Germans who are doing well. Of the 6 young African racers on the team, 3 of them are from Eritrea and all have either won or placed in the top 10 already in this early season. This includes Amanuel Meron who rode his Stradalli Cycle Aversa full carbon road bike right to the podium in the Tour of Eritrea already.

Amanuel is joined by teammates Amanuel Mengis Ghebreindrias, Meron Teshome and German riders Dominik Merseburg, Daniel Bichlmann and Matthias Schnapka who all have experience riding in the heat of Africa. Great teamwork is the reason for the early season success of Stradalli – Bike Aid, however, it is also a great reminder of the hard charitable work put in by the organization. When you have 3 stellar racers return home to Eritrea and perform the way these young men have you know that the program is working and the efforts are paying off. 

Tom Stradalli, CEO of Stradalli Cycle, and the Stradalli - Bike Aid Team have spent the week 
preparing for Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn - Frankfurt. This UCI 1.HC race is one of the toughest races in 
Germany and attracts many World Tour teams. 
Eschborn - Frankfurt past winners include Alexander Kristoff of Team Katusha and the legendary 
Erik Zabel of Team Telekom. 
The Stradalli - Bike Aid Continental Professional Team will use the Aversa carbon aero road frame 
for this weekend's race. The guys are coming off some great wins and podiums at the Tour of Eritrea and are 
ready to continue their European UCI racing campaign.

Stradalli – Bike Aid – Mont Ventoux training camp racers are preparing

The European racing schedule is intensifying. We are in full swing with the spring classics well under way. The Tour of Flanders finished this past weekend and Paris – Roubaix is nearly upon us. Many of the classics riders are in top form this time of year, but the general classification riders are just getting started.

Stradalli – Bike Aid began their season early in Africa , Germany and in Spain as do most UCI teams. Since they have taken several podiums in Africa and are now preparing for the important stage races with a team training camp.

Places such as Tenerife are famous for their high elevation and tough training conditions. Teams such as Sky and Astana frequent the area to prepare their riders for the high elevation of big stage races. This year Stradalli – Bike Aid has chosen the battleground for many Tour de France routes as their choice for high mountains training, Mont Ventoux.

Mont Ventoux has long been a mainstay of the Tour de France route due to its beauty, but also its diversity. The variety of conditions riders experience on Mont Ventoux makes it incredibly difficult. It begins as a sheltered, gradually rising road through the green forests of France, but finishes at the top of a barren and windy mountain peak with incredible steep roads which switch back and forth up the mountain.

Mont Ventoux has featured in the Tour de France 15 times over the years, 10 of which were summit finishes. In 2013, Chris Froome of Team Sky won atop Mont Ventoux on his way to winning the yellow jersey. The difficulty of the mountain has made those who win legends of the sport. Richard Virenque, Marco Pantani and Eddy Merckx are all on the list of riders to win atop Mont Ventoux.

Stradalli – Bike Aid will face similar challenges in Africa, Europe and Asia in the coming months. The Tour of Eritrea will reach 2,500 meters, a height surpassing that of Mont Ventoux. The team has been training all over the world in preparation for upcoming races in high tech facilities such as the STAPS facility in Koln, Germany. Now the team is bringing their fitness to the road and putting themselves to the test on the toughest mountains Europe has to offer.

Stradalli – Bike Aid’s next race will begin April 19^th in Eritrea. 

Meet Stradalli-Bike Aid Pro Racer Patrick Lechner

One of the more versatile of the Stradalli-Bike Aid pro racers is Patrick Lechner who enjoys mountain biking, cyclocross racing as well as road racing. Patrick is one of the more relentless cyclists during the racing, giving it his all. But his teammates love the fact that he will do anything for the betterment of the group rather than look at the individual gains. You can read more about Patrick and the team at the Stradalli Cycle blog. 

Filming to begin on new Stradalli Cycle TV Show

A new European reality TV show based on Stradalli Cycle will begin filming in March covering the company and multiple teams. Stradalli Cycles expansion into European racing has caught the attention of many media outlets as they are now gaining exposure around the world. Be sure to check out the Stradalli Cycle blog for updates on filming as well as the TV series.

Stradalli - Bike Aid Gears Up For La Tropicale Amissa Bongo

The beginning of La Tropicale Amissa Bongo is closing in. January 18, 2016 the UCI 2.1 status race features some of the best teams in the world. More importantly it is the most prestigious race in Africa and it is the first race on the calendar for Stradalli-Bike Aid.

         For the 10th straight year the La Tropicale Amissa Bongo will be held in Gabon, Africa.  This race consists of 7 stages. 3 stages that will take the riders on a tour through the hillier parts of Eastern Gabon. 1 stage is an individual time trial and the rest of the stages will be held near the flat coastline of West Gabon.

          Competing with Stradalli-Bike Aid for the race are teams representing countries from each region of Africa as well as Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team.

          La Tropicale Amissa Bongo is one of the few races during the season that amateur African cycling teams have the chance to race with professional teams who race a full UCI calendar. The race focuses on developing African cycling, which makes it a large target for Stradalli-Bike Aid.

          Timo Schafer, team leader for Stradalli-Bike Aid, said La Tropicale Amissa Bongo is the perfect place to begin the season and debut the new racing team.

          “This was the most successful and exciting off season in team history between training in the United States and all around Europe, the new racers we have added to the team and the new sponsorship with Stradalli Cycle. Having the support of a great sponsor makes you even more optimistic about the upcoming season and we are excited to see what the new members of the team can do as well. Now we get to go to Gabon, Africa to show how serious we are about our mission to develop African cycling.” Schafer said.

          Stradalli - Bike Aid has had several success stories including Mekseb Debesay, a Eritrean professional cyclist. Dimension Data, UCI World Tour Professional Team, bought Debesay from Stradalli-Bike Aid because of his performances over the course of 2015. Debesay is just one success story of the Stradalli-Bike Aid team and Dimension Data are not the only major players who have noticed.

          Matthias Schnapka, professional rider for Stradalli-Bike Aid, feels that the new sponsorship which includes Aversa full carbon road bikes, is going to make a big difference for the upcoming season.

          “We have been training with our new bikes for a couple of months and they are fantastic. Every pro cyclist in the world will tell you about the importance of having reliable equipment when competing at such a high level. I know I speak for the whole team when I say the support from FSA - Full Speed Ahead has been outstanding. I can say the same for Prologo Seats. Having these big companies like those go out of their way to support us is very special.” Schnapka said.